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262 points Anon84 | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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Throwaway42754 ◴[] No.44408788[source]
I have schizoaffective disorder, induced by a bad trip from marijuana. It was like the 3rd time I had tried weed, and I naively took too much.

For me psychosis feels like pattern matching going on extreme overdrive, while at the same time memory goes to shit. It's truly an awful illness, and what's worse is that the current medical treatments are bad. I've been fortunate enough where I can get by on a low dose olanzapine, but for many people they simply don't work at all.

Even though I'm doing well enough to function normally and hold down a good, well paying job, it's impossible to find a partner. If I were to have kids, I would have to go through one of the embryo prescreening services. I am strongly in support of these screening services - the disease is truly horrible.

There has been little progress on treatments for schizophrenia, the mechanism of action of these drugs has remained the same for decades. The side effects are almost as bad as the disease, which is why so many schizophrenic stop taking them. The only novel medication recently released is Cobenfy, which I have not tried yet.

Personally I am holding out hope that schizophrenia has some basis as an autoimmune disease. There was a cancer patient who had a bone marrow transplant and ended up being cured: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/schizophre...

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ashoeafoot ◴[] No.44408871[source]
It also makes you near unemployable as stress triggers the paranoia/psychosis.
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sandspar ◴[] No.44410200[source]
Not for everyone. Many schizophrenics find their work calming and grounding.
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dyauspitr ◴[] No.44430562[source]
Depends on the work. If it’s solitary work then yes, if it’s fast paced, social and stressful (like most high paying roles are) then no.
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sandspar ◴[] No.44431030[source]
Sorry, it depends on the person. Elyn Saks is a law professor at USC who gives speeches to international audiences when she's not writing books - and she has schizophrenia. Her fame gives her a unique position: many people write letters to her. She's said that she's surprised by how many highly successful people confide in her that they have schizophrenia. There are schizophrenic CEO's, lawyers, doctors, founders. You just don't hear about them because they don't publicize their condition. Possibly because they fear judgment. Possibly because they want success on their own terms, to be simply a "successful person", not a "successful person with schizophrenia".
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1. dyauspitr ◴[] No.44431363[source]
How do you know there are schizophrenic professionals?